


Love Over a Christmas Table

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, F/M, Holidays, love at the Christmas Table
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5294078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Smith and Rose Tyler have seen a lot of each other as children.  And once they move on to their lives, they still come home for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This whole fic is based off of the movie "Love at the Christmas Table" which is fabulous and fluffy and I thought of it about a month ago and thought of these two but it was far too early for thoughts like that. Now, it's time! And as you all know, I'm rather in love with the 'we've-known-we-were-soulmates-all-along' angle, so here you are! I hope you all like it!
> 
> This chapter is summarizing the childhoods and well you'll get it

"I swear kids never stop moving," Jackie Tyler said, her voice exhausted.  

Sylvia Noble patted the other woman's shoulder, her attitude one hundred percent sympathetic.  She glanced over at her own daughter and foster son.  "Yes, they can be quite a handful."

"And you've got  _two!"_ Jackie moaned, putting her face in her hands.  "Love, I don't know how you manage."

Sylvia chuckled.  "I pray a lot," she said, gesturing to the heavens even as she spoke.  Just then the three children, Rose Tyler, Donna Noble, and John Smith-Noble, respectively, tore into the kitchen, nearly knocking the two women flat on their backs.  Jackie turned around, her hands on her hips.  "Rose Tyler you slow yourself down right now!"

The little girl with wispy brown curls would've listened, had she not run smack into a counter.  Her lower lip trembled but she didn't cry because john was right behind her.  He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her where she'd hit her head.  "Better!" he shouted, and the three of them were giggling and tearing out of the room at top speed again.

"Did you see that?" Sylvia asked quietly, jumping a little bit before going back to her stirring.  "Did you bloody see that?!"

"That little boy of yours is besotted, he is," Jackie smiled, "Funny how four year olds can be besotted with each other, isn't it?"

Sylvia sighed, "I really hope it stays that way," She said, "I'd rather fancy us being related!"

The neighbors that got together for Christmas were excellent at having fun.  Sylvia's dad also came along, and Jackie's husband, as well as a couple down the street, Ian and Barbara.  The two of them were very classic, and they were rather charmed by the Tylers and the Nobles.  So, the three children had known each other since they were born.  

Rose Tyler was the most jeopardy friendly of the group, was always knocking about into things.  The only reason she wasn't crying twenty four hours a day was because John was always there, babbling and helping her to her feet.  Donna was older than the pair of them by a year, already trying to be an adult but quickly falling into her routine of being a child again. 

"Kids!" Jackie hollered, "Dinner!"

Always ready for Christmas dinner, the children tore into the room and threw themselves into the chairs at the kid's table.  

"Children, they're so enthusiastic," Barbara mused, watching the children giggle and bounce in their seats as they got ready for Christmas dinner.

Jackie ran an exhausted hand through her hair and leaned on her husband.  "Yes, well, they're certainly up and about all the time."

****************

Being the Rose and John had known each other their whole lives, it was assumed that the two of them would share the holiday together, and they never made any other plans.  Both of them were completely aware that they could've gone somewhere else, but they were best friends, and Donna was their best friend as well.  The three of them spent every free second together, but Christmas was always even more spectacular and exciting.

"So what was it like?" Rose asked, now twelve, "Kissing a boy!  How exciting!"

Donna smiled smugly and examined her nails.  "Oh, it was alright, he's rather fit."

"How can anyone be 'fit' at thirteen?" John asked, rolling his eyes.

"Well you're bloody well not fit!" Donna replied, now cross.  "You're just jealous you've never kissed anyone yet!"

John's cheeks burned with embarrassment.  "No, I'm not jealous!"

"Well, in answer to your question, Rose, it was fantastic and I'd rather like to do it again with him.  Rose, you'll love it, once you get around to it."

Rose beamed.  "I can't wait."

"That's the hormones talking," John mumbled.

"Shut up, John, neither of us know a thing about anything," Rose replied, "Especially not all that kissin' and stuff."

Donna hummed, "You know what, though, you'll figure it out when you get there." 

Rose flopped against the back of the couch and crossed her arms.  "I sure hope it's soon."

Sylvia called for Donna from the kitchen, and Donna rolled her eyes.  "The drill Sargent, she a-calls!  Coming, mum!"  She jumped up from her seat next to Rose and left the room.  

John, now alone with Rose in the family room, stared at Rose skeptically.  "You really want to do all that kissing and stuff?  With a boy?"

"Well, not just any boy, obviously," she said, furrowing her brows at him.  ""M not a tart."

"I didn't say you were!"

"Good, cause I'm not!"

"I know!"

They stared at each other for a few moments, fuming, until John dropped his gaze.  "I'm curious about it all, too," he muttered.  

Rose stared at him curiously, "You are?" 

"Yeah, well, I mean, like I said... _Hormones."_

"Maybe..."

"Oh, Rose, I know exactly where you're going with that."

"Well, be honest!  Who else would we kiss?"

His gaze was thoughtful, and he had to admit that she did have a rather good point.  "Well, alright, I'll make you a deal," he said, adjusting himself on the floor, where he sat in front of Rose.  His back suddenly felt too stiff and uncomfortable against the coffee table.  He was also feeling rather uncomfortable under her gaze.  

"You'll make me a deal-?" She repeated, looking at him expectantly.

"If... If the year we're fifteen comes around, and you still want to, we'll do it."

"Oh, I'll want to."

His left eyebrow crept up on his forehead.  "Rose Tyler, are you saying that you fancy me?"

Rose's cheeks colored deeply.  "Oh, shut up."

"Rose!  John!  Dinner!" John's grandfather called from the kitchen.

"Well, that's dinner, let's go!" Rose said in a rushed voice before bolting from the room.  

John sat on the floor only a few seconds longer, grinning stupidly to himself.

*******

Neither of them told Donna about their plans, and they had a bit of trouble looking each other in the eye for the next two years when they remembered what they would be doing.  

It all worked out, as it were, because when they were fifteen, Donna was sixteen, and obviously feeling very much the adult.  She was helping Barbara, Jackie, and Sylvia in the kitchen, leaving the two of them very much alone in the family room.  With a door.  That was very closeable.

They were shooed out of the kitchen by all the women (And Rose's father as well, because he and Wilfred and Ian were planning to talk about beer and he didn't want the kids to get any ideas).  Rose followed John into the family room and shut the door behind her.  "I still want to," she said in a rushed breath.

John felt his breath hitch in his chest as he turned to face her.  His gaze raked slowly over her body, unable to resist from relishing in her body.  She'd gotten curves earlier than the rest of the girls, and she was a fool if she thought John hadn't noticed.  Her hair was blonde, and dear God above him John  _loved_ the blonde.  He licked his lips and raised his eyes back to her face.  "You do?"

"Yeah," Rose said quietly.  "And... Shireen, you know, she's been telling me about how she learned to do it, and so I mean... I think I can make it good, even if I've never done it before."

"Rose, I don't think I could make it very good," John replied, feeling suddenly nervous.

She hummed and crossed the room to him before looping her arms around his neck. "Sometimes I'd swear you were an alien."

His hands fluttered for a moment before landing at her waist over her red Christmas jumper.  "You don't know I'm not," he teased back.

She smiled and her gaze fell to his lips.  "Good things doors have locks," she whispered, and leaned forward to kiss him before he could even think about saying anything else.  Without thinking, one of his hands fisted in her jumper while the other snuck under it, and under the vest top she was wearing.  The feeling of his palm on her skin made her shiver and press just a little bit closer to him.

It started off dreadfully chaste, and John cut his losses with the fact that this was probably where she would end it, and he'd never get the kind of kissing that he saw on the telly.  The way, he was ashamed to admit, even to himself, that he wanted to kiss Rose. 

His heart practically jumped out of his mouth and into Rose's when she opened her mouth over his.  He followed her lead, making sure to give as good as he got (and he was getting pretty good) until she softened the kiss and pulled away from him.  She stayed very close, however.  "Now, hear me out," she said quietly, "This is where the learning starts."

At first, John was very confused.  She kissed him again, a second kiss he wasn't expecting but gladly took, hauling Rose closer to him, one of his hands completely up her back under her jumper to grab her shoulder.  She completely blew his expectations out of the water by tracing her tongue along his bottom lip.  He couldn't quite stop himself from dropping his jaw open the slightest bit to allow her tongue interest.  He followed her again, and they learned around each other's mouths, until they were closer and closer and both John's hands were up her shirt and her hands were in his hair, tugging at it.

Soon, when they couldn't take it anymore, they broke apart to breathe, panting quite nearly into each other's mouths.  

"God," she breathed out, tipping her forehead to his.

"You can call me John," he teased, and she tugged his hair in response, which certainly wasn't the punishment she had intended it to be.  "We should do that every Christmas."

Rose chuckled.  As much as she wanted to suggest they should do it every day, she couldn't do it.  She knew how much he meant to her, and if they tried to change things, they'd lose their friendship.  That was something they could never risk doing, and she knew that he knew that too.  Still, she couldn't resist another slow, thorough kiss, just in case.  "Yeah, every Christmas."


	2. Chapter 2

Rose had to admit that going back to Christmas dinner was only slightly awkward.  At school, it was easy to pretend they'd never kissed like they had, or really, that they were interested in each other at all, but the second they were back in that room, it all came crashing in like a wave.

_Every Christmas._

Would he really want to kiss her again?  She wanted him to be the one to make the decision, not her.  She wanted him to tell her what he wanted, because somehow, she knew it was her, but it was hard to keep from blurting it out the second he got into the room.

She ended up helping with a bit of the cooking (but only a bit, Jackie, Sylvia, Barbara, and Donna all knew that she wanted to see John) and by the time she was released from her womanly duties, she had powdered sugar smeared across her cheek and her clothes smelling like turkey.  Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, to keep her hair out of the food, and she wanted nothing more than a nap, if she was completely honest.

"There's my girl!" Pete said as she was crossing through the dining room to the living room.  She turned to her dad and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Hi, Wilf, hi, Ian," she said, smiling at the two other men who sat at the table.

"Do the women need any help?" Wilfred asked, looking almost worried, as though he was afraid the workload was too much on his daughter and her closest friends.

Rose laughed, "Oh, no, I've just been relieved of duty anyway," she assured them.  "I'll see you at dinner."  She started to head off, then stopped.  "John  _is_ here, yeah?"

"Like he would miss an opportunity to eat," Ian scoffed, and the other two men and Rose couldn't help but laugh at that.  It was rather true, after all, John could eat for England.  Rose sometimes swore he had two stomachs... Or something like that.  

She dismissed herself from the dining room and walked into the lounge.  She didn't see John there at first and furrowed her brows.  The telly was on, mindlessly blaring some random Christmas movie.  She narrowed her eyes and took a step further into the room.  "John?" She called out tentatively.  "Are you in here?"

The door shut behind her, and she turned around.  John was standing there, looking incredibly vulnerable.  They stood there for a few moments, simply watching each other curiously, until John suddenly spoke up, his soft voice almost too loud in the room.  

"Hello."

"Hello."

"Happy Christmas."

"Ta.  You too."

John took a few steps closer to her, until he was right in front of her.  "Can I-?" He cut himself off, waiting for permission.  She nodded, almost couldn't get her affirmation of his advances out fast enough.  He beamed in response before kissing her.

He really was rather good at this now, and she had to admit that she was as well.  They'd learned their way around each other's mouths the year before, and she wanted to continue to kiss him until she died.  That sounded a bit Romeo and Juliet, but she felt that it was appropriate.  

Immediately, his hands slipped under her jumper and vest top, stroking her skin.  She'd wanted her hands on his waist this time, wanted her hands on  _his_ skin, but he'd beat her to the punch and was now feeling up her back.  He pulled back slowly, and she was afraid she'd done something wrong, but he turned his attention from her mouth to her cheek.  

She always thought she would hate if a man licked her, that it would be weird.  But, she'd had powdered sugar there, and it wasn't like she was opposed to him touching her or anything.  Her eyes fluttered closed as his tongue traveled along his cheek until he had retrieved all the powdered sugar.

"I want to try something," he said lowly, against her ear.

She forced herself not to stiffen.  She didn't want more, not necessarily, not what she thought he was asking.  Mentally, she tried to calm herself enough to ask him exactly what he wanted.  "And what's that?" She asked, forcing her breathy voice to be casual.  

He nosed his way down her neck to the collar of her jumper, and tugged it down to below her collarbone.  "What do they call it in the film?  A lovebite?"

"Yeah, or a hickey."

"Can I give you one?" 

"John Smith, my parents are right out there."

"I'll put it where they won't see it," he promised wickedly against her skin.  "And you can return the favor."

Her hand fluttered uncertainly by his head before coming down, threading her fingers through his hair as she tipped her head back.  "Permission granted," she said.  

He tugged her collar down just a bit more and latched his mouth onto the skin just below her collarbone, biting and sucking at the skin there, laving it with his tongue right as she was on the border between pain and enjoyment.

Another thing she thought she'd hate, debunked.  Or, maybe it wasn't the action at all, maybe it was just John, and she wanted him to touch her.  She might hate it if it was another boy in his place, and  _God,_ how was he so good at this?

After what felt like an eternity and not a long enough time at all, he pulled away, pressing a lingering kiss to the mark he'd left on her neck.  She saw him smiling at the mark as he straightened up to look at her and cocked an eyebrow.

"You think you're impressive," she said, rolling her eyes.

He hummed and tugged the jumper back up to where it was supposed to be, keeping the love bite concealed.  "Well, I think you can see that the mark I've left on you is rather impressive, Rose Tyler."

"Turnabout is fair play," she muttered, lifting her hands to undo the first button on his dress shirt.  She pulled his undershirt down as well, giving her access to the same spot that he'd marked on her, a place that was still throbbing with all the blood rushing to it.  "Gonna take a lot to get blood up here, isn't it?"

"Oi!"

She giggled, then sobered as she looked up at him.  "I don't think I'm going to be as good at this as you are."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb.  "It's you," he said quietly. 

She couldn't help smiling at him.  He did care for her.  She knew that, of course she did, but hearing words like that from him were beyond everything she'd ever wanted.  Before he could say anything else, she ducked her head to his chest, just above where his (admittedly manly) smattering of chest hair began.  She latched onto the skin, marveling at the taste of his skin before mirroring the motions that he'd performed on her.

He let out a gentle sigh of satisfaction before running his hands up into her hair, not pushing or forcing her against him, more like he was holding on for dear life.  She felt his skin pull as his head fell back and she bit him a little harder when he did so.  He muffled a groan, caught it before it slipped from his lips. 

"Shh," she murmured against his skin, "Parents."

"Blimey."

That was the last word he got out until she was finished, and quite satisfied with her work at that.  She smoothed her thumb over the mark and looked up at him.  "What, are we branded now?" 

His eyes softened.  "I should think so," he pulled her into his arms, a simple hug.  "I know we can't right now, because we're young and it's stupid, but Rose Tyler, I want to marry you."

"I think that'll be allowed."

"Oh, good."

"After Uni, of course."

"Of course."

They both laughed, and Rose had to admit that she was surprised that there was no tension between them.  

"Do you want to watch that daft movie I put on?" He asked.

She looked at it.  "Yeah.  I do."

They cuddled up on the couch to watch the film, but it wasn't long before Rose fell asleep on his shoulder.  Donna entered the room a short time later to tell them dinner was ready when she saw the two of them curled up together. 

"Did you two idiots finally get your act together?" She stage whispered to John.

He shook his head.  "We're not meant to be yet.  But, someday."

She sighed.  "Alright, well wake her up so you can eat dinner."

************

"You're buying a what?" Jackie asked over Christmas dinner, her eyes firmly fixed on Wilf.

"A mattress store!" He beamed.  "Oh, come on, love, I've always wanted to run a business, and this came up, and I couldn't say no, could I?"

"I suppose not," Jackie said, "I just want you to be careful with your finances, s'all."

Sylvia sighed. "I tried to talk him out of it too, Jackie, but at least he's doing it after the Christmas season, right?" 

"That's very true," Barbara said, "It'll be a good investment someday, Wilf."

"Very fine," Ian agreed.

"As long as you don't let teenagers sneak in there, Grandpa!" Donna piped up.

The adults around the table started to laugh, but Rose and John just forced laughs, the love bites feeling like burns in their chests now.   Now, wouldn't that be the opportunity of a lifetime?  But it wasn't their time yet, and they knew it. 

After Uni.

After Uni.

She looked at him across the table, how his lips fit around the wine glass he was drinking cider out of.

_Why not now?_

_Why not now?_

She looked down at her own food.  It was logical to not completely wreck their friendship right now.  

After Uni.

...After Uni.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose ended up going so far away for Uni that she knew it was going to be a struggle to get back to London for Christmas.  She was determined to do her best, however, wanting to get home to John and her family.  It made her feel only the slightest bit guilty that she kept thinking of John first, always John.

As luck would have it, Rose didn't make it back for Christmas until her junior year of Uni.  By that point she was very much expected to stay in the kitchen with the women, and John was very much expected to loiter at the dining room table and drink with the men.  She passed him briefly before getting to the kitchen, and she tried not to notice when his mouth opened slightly.  She'd given him the biggest smile and ducked into the kitchen, feeling like a teenager all over again and not exactly hating it. 

"You wouldn't happen to be making the moves on our John, would you, Rose?" Sylvia asked, cocking an eyebrow playfully.  

Rose blushed.  "S'John," she murmured.

"You know he's just had the world's worst breakup," Donna said, stage whispering, as she usually did.

Rose's head snapped up to look at Donna.  "Uh, he did?"

Donna nodded solemnly.  "Yeah.  Dated her for about a year and a half, never so much as kissed her.  Of course, she flew of the handle, finding old pictures of the two of you.  It was a right mess, he came right home crying and with a black eye."

"She hit him because he wasn't putting any moves on her?" Rose asked, feeling herself getting angry and basting the turkey a bit too aggressively.

"Calm down, love, you'll splatter that in somebody's eye," her mother scolded.

Sylvia addressed Rose, "It would seem to be that way."

"Did she... Did she come home with him?  For Christmas?"  Rose tried not to sound too needy.

"I wish you two'd just get married," Donna sighed heavily, "The two of you can never look at anybody else long enough to even develop a fling."

Rose blushed and looked down, but Donna's dismissal had only answered her question.  Of course, John had brought his girlfriend home for Christmas, why wouldn't he?  She sighed heavily.  For a year, almost two, she was replaced.  But he hadn't kissed her, that part of John still belonged entirely to her, and that was all she wanted in the end.  For them to belong to each other. 

The cooking went smoothly; Rose hadn't realized just how much she'd missed her family.  Barbara and Ian were expecting a baby, and it made Rose so excited she could hardly see straight.  She wanted a life like that, a little family, a little excitement, but the problem was, she had to wait.  

After Uni.

After Uni.

She helped all the women carry out all the food, and the men stood to help them.  John came right up to Rose and took the tray she was carrying from her.  He smiled at her, a thousand watt grin she'd always be excited to see.  "Hello."

"Hello," she replied, beaming just for him.

"You look beautiful."

She handed him the tray, feeling a little bashful, and without thinking, leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek.

They sat together, their hands brushing every so often.  It shot sparks up Rose's arm, and he kept directing questions at her, and it was made very clear that he wanted to know everything about her life in the two years he had missed.  She told him everything eagerly and asked John questions, noticing he never mentioned an ex. 

By the end of dinner, the whole group had fallen into a comfortable chat, but John was fidgeting, seeming nervous and jumpy.  When dessert was over, he turned to her rather suddenly.  

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked lowly.

Rose nodded, perhaps a bit too quickly, and his face lit up into that smile again.  He announced that the two of them were going to go out for a little bit.  Neither of them missed the looks that every other person at the table threw their way.  Rose blushed and the Doctor rolled his eyes at their expressions.  He held Rose's coat open to help her into it.  Once he'd got that situated, he handed her his scarf and put his own coat on before pulling her out by the hand.  She wrapped his scarf around her, enveloping her in his scent. He didn't let go of her hand as they exited the house, and he pulled her down the road. 

"Look at you, a man with a plan," she said cheekily, "When did that happen?"

"You haven't seen Granddad's mattress store," he smiled at her, "And it's quiet and warm and he's got a stash of candy that's to die for."

Rose giggled and let him tug her along through the cold until they reached the mattress store, which had obviously been fixed up quite a bit.  "Wow," Rose breathed, "He did so well."

"He's not senile just yet," John chuckled, fishing for a keyring in his pocket.  When he found it, he let them in through the glass doors and locked it behind him.  Rose kept a hold of his hand but floated around, looking at all the new things that Wilf had added to the store.  It was neat, almost immaculate, but she had a feeling that wasn't why John had brought her here.

"I had a girlfriend," he said quietly, "In Uni.  She messed me up good."

"Your mum and sister told me," she admitted reluctantly.  "You never kissed her."

John nodded and sat down on the edge of a mattress, not making eye contact with her.  She stood before him and waited until he spoke.  

"I got close a couple times, but I'd get too close to her face and I'd start thinking about you and I couldn't stop thinking around it all, everything we did."  He fiddled with her fingers, a thorough distraction from looking at her.  "I just couldn't justify doing any of it with somebody else."

She lifted a hand and cupped his cheek.  "I'm going to guess my mother told you everything about me from the past two years."

He looked even farther down guiltily, but she didn't allow her hand to be dislodged. He sighed, smoothing his thumbs over her hand.  "She told me you didn't go on a single date.  Is that true?" His voice sounded so timid and afraid that she felt her heart swell with complete love and affection for him.

"Yes," she said quietly, "I was waiting for you."

"I'm sorry," he looked up into her face finally, his eyes suspiciously wet, "I promised you, I promised I'd wait for you and I didn't."

"You did," she said, determined to not let himself feel guilty for this.  "You waited for me, and thought of me, and I couldn't ask for anything more of you."

He seemed puzzled by this, like he had expected her to yell.  "You're not angry?" he asked softly.

"No," she said with conviction.  "I'm not angry with you."

He stood, and her hand dropped from his face to his shoulder with the motion.  His free hand found her waist, as though he was afraid to touch her.  "I missed you so much these past two years," he said softly, "So much."

She couldn't suppress the smile that lit up her face.  "I missed you, too, John, so much."

He moved forward to press his forehead against hers, his eyes fluttering shut.  "It hurt sometimes, how much I missed you," he admitted quietly.  "And we were just teenagers, when we started all this, but I never thought of anyone but you."

"I didn't either," she promised. She tipped her head forward and kissed him, a softer kiss than she'd ever given him, only full of love and not teenage hormones.  She removed her hand from his to cup his cheeks and hold him there with infinite tenderness.  He let his other hand creep over her back, clutching her close.  It took several minutes before they were both out of breath and ready to separate.  He pulled her into a tight hug, his face buried into her neck.  She pushed her hands up into his hair, pressing kisses to his ear until he pulled away.

"Rose, I had a plan," he said carefully.

She cocked an eyebrow.  "I'm listening," she said, searching his eyes.

"I know what we said, and I'm not trying to dishonor young-us, you know, I'm really not, but I just..." He drummed his fingers against her waist.  "I knew you were coming home, and I felt like I'd be losing you every year until you came home, so I sat for my doctorate this year."

Rose's eyes almost popped out of her head.  "How the hell did you do that?  You're twenty!"

He smiled brightly at her.  "I'm brilliant!"

She laughed and tugged his hair playfully.  "I'm so proud of you."

He nudged her nose with his and laughed. "That wasn't my point."

"Could you get to it, then?"

"I'm a free man, I can get a job anywhere I want.  Actually, I'd like to ask you my question first, I guess."

Rose giggled, "You know I didn't know there was a question.  Let's get where we're going, shall we?"

John laughed, a free sound she hadn't heard in what felt like the longest amount of time in the world.  He wasn't entirely serious as he met her gaze again and stepped back.  "Yeah, there's a question."  He took her hands in his and slowly lowered himself to one knee.  

"John," Rose breathed out, her voice full of awe.

He dug into his pocket with his free hand and extracted a small ring box from it, opening it and exposing the most beautiful ring Rose had ever seen.  "Rose Tyler, I know we said we'd wait until after Uni, but, well, it is after Uni for me, and I'd really like to spend forever with you.  Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

 

She felt as though her face was going to crack with how widely she was smiling, and at first she could only nod violently.  "Yes, yeah, I'll marry you, come here."

John got to his feet and slipped the ring onto her finger before kissing her deeply and pulling her into a crushing hug.  She admired her ring over his shoulder, loving the look of it and loving the man who'd given it to her.  She was so engrossed she almost didn't notice their entire dinner party outside the store doors, cheering. 

Rose laughed and John turned over his shoulder to look at the scene she was beholding.  He sighed heavily, "That's why I locked the bloody door behind me!" He shouted.  In response, Wilf pulled out his own key and waved it at John before unlocking the door.  

Soon, their family and friends were all in the mattress store, hugging John and Rose.

Later that night, the couple found a moment by themselves as they walked through the city.  John made sure to hold her left hand so he could feel her ring against his skin.  

"You know, I wasn't sure you'd say yes," he said, "All of that 'not-seeing-each-other' business and stuff."

"I would've said yes if you'd have asked me when we were still in high school," Rose said honestly, knowing she meant it more than she'd ever meant anything.  "I love you."

"I love you," John said it with conviction, like a proclamation.  She tilted her head against his shoulder, cuddling into him as much as she could while vertical.  

They were married the very next Christmas, and it seemed very fitting, considering the 'kiss-every-Christmas tradition.' And neither of them could bear to think of the fact that they would've never eaten Christmas dinner together, they wouldn't have gotten this far.  

However, there was kissing a lot more than just on Christmas.


End file.
